Strap cutter



H. G. LASSEN STRAP CUTTER Out. 4, 1955 Filed May 8, 1952 JNVENTOR. H42 726 fizwl czz/laaaer United States Patent STRAP CUTTER Hans Gustav Lassen, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Acme Steel Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application May 8, 1952, Serial No. 286,779

4 Claims. (Cl. 30165) This invention relates to an improved strap cutting tool for use in severing a metal strap which has previously been drawn taut.

It is common practice to reinforce boxes and packages and to bind articles together by metal straps which are drawn taut around the object to be bound and then have their overlapping ends secured together by some form of interlocking joint, thus retaining the taut condition of the straps. In order to release the articles which are thus bound together or to permit the opening of the bound boxes or packages, it is necessary to shear the binding straps and this has commonly been done by the use of severing tools of the scissors type which are relatively heavy and expensive and cumbersome to use. This is especially true of the tools which have been used for severing heavy straps having a substantial width and thickness, for example, 2 inches wide and 0.050 inch thick, which are commonly used for binding heavy objects carried by freight cars or the like. A typical scissors type tool for severing heavy straps of this character weighs nearly 7 pounds and considerable effort is required to move it about and operate it so that its use is very tiring to the workman.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved strap cutter which is light in weight, very inexpensive and capable of being operated with little eifort. A further object is to provide a portable strap cutting tool which may be easily carried on the person of the workman so that it is readily available for convenient use. Another object is to provide a strap cutting tool having no relatively movable parts and provided with a cutting edge adapted to effect a progressive shear ing of a metal strap from one edge to the other. Still another object of the invention is to provide a cutting tool provided with a tapered extremity having a longitudinal slot to receive the strap and having cutting edges at each margin of the slot whereby the rotation of the tool in either direction about its longitudinal axis will effect a progressive shearing of the strap. Other objects relate to various features of construction and arrangement which will appear more fully hereinafter.

The nature of the invention will be understood from the following specification taken with the accompanying drawings in which two embodiments are illustrated. In the drawings,

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a box bound by a metal strap with a cutting tool embodying the present invention shown in operative relationship to the strap;

Fig. 2 shows a side elevation of the strap cutter illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows a front elevation of the strap cutter illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of the operat ing end of the strap cutter shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, illustrating the strap receiving slot which is formed within the tapered end of the tool;

Fig. 5 shows an enlarged end elevation of the tool illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, with the strap extending through the slot of the tool in readiness to be sheared;

Fig. 6 shows an end view of the strap cutter, similar to that of Fig. 5, illustrating the relative positions of the cutter and the strap after a partial rotation of the cutter for shearing purposes has been etiected;

Fig. 7 shows a perspective view similar to that of Fig. 4 with the strap extending through the slot of the cutter and partially sheared by the rotation of the cutter; and

Fig. 8 is a perspective view similar to that of Fig. 1 showing a modified form of the strap cutter of the present invention.

As shown in Fig. 1 the improved strap cutter is shown in connection with a box 10 which is bound by a metal strap 11 drawn taut around the box and having its ends secured together by means of a seal 12 which is deformed along with the enclosed strap ends to provide an interlocking joint. The strap cutter 14 comprises a bar 15 of circular cross section provided at one end with a transversely extending handle 16. The bar 15 is provided with a tapered extremity 15a at the end thereof opposite the handle 16 and this tapered extremity is provided with an axially located longitudinal slot 1511 which terminates somewhat short of the inner end of the tapered portion 15a. The formation of the slot 1512 provides sharp cutting edges 15c, 15d, 15s, and 15 which extend throughout the length of the slot 15b and terminate at the rounded extremity of the tapered portion of the tool.

In the use of the strap cutter described above the tool is placed in engagement with the strap, as shown in Fig. l, with the strap extending into the slot 15b to the bottom of the slot. The bar 15 is then rotated by means of the handle 16 to bring the strap into engagement with two of the cutting edges at opposite sides of the slot, such as the cutting edges 15c and 15d, shown in Fig. 6. Then, as the rotation of the bar is continued in the direction of the arrow 17, the strap 11 is progressively sheared from one edge to the other as shown in Fig. 7 where the strap is illustrated as being partially cut along the line 11a. As the rotation of the tool continues, the shearing of the strap continues until it has been entirely severed. Due to the taper of the extremity of the tool and the corresponding inclination of the shear edges, the cutting of the strap takes place progressively so that it may be accomplished with a minimum of effort, even when very heavy strap is being used. An advantage of the invention lies in the fact that two cutting edges are provided at each margin of the slot so that the strap will be sheared regardless of the direction of rotation of the tool. As illustrated in Fig. 6, the shearing may be effected by the cutting edges 15a and 15; as well as by the cutting edges 15c and 15a.

The character of the handle provided for the slotted bar 15b may depend upon the use to which the tool is to be put and may be changed in order to make the operation of the tool most convenient. Where the strap is relatively heavy and considerable force must be exerted to eifect the progressive shearing of the taut strap, the strap cutter may have the form shown in Fig. 8 where the tool 20 is shown as having a slotted bar 21 engaging the strap 22 which is drawn taut around the box 23 In this case, the bar 21 is provided with a transversely extending handle 24 of considerable length which will permit a substantial leverage to be exerted upon the slotted bar 15 during its rotation for strap shearing purposes. The bar 21 and its slotted extremity may be of similar construction to the corresponding parts previously described.

It has been found that a tool constructed according to the present invention may be very much lighter than the scissors type tools which have previously been employed for the same purpose. For example, while a scissors type tool for cutting a particular strap may weigh nearly 7 pounds, as stated above, a strap cutter made according to the present invention and capable of operating effectively upon the same width and gauge of strap will weigh only 1 /2 pounds. Thus, the strap cutter of the present invention may be conveniently carried by the workman in his pocket and will be readily available for use in any location, When in use, the strap cutter of the present invention may be .employed to shear the strap with very much less etfort than that which was required by the former scissors type tool. It is apparent, of course, that two cutting edges, such as 156 and 15d, may act to shear the strap at the same time but this is not objectionable and it is of advantage to have two pairs of cutting edges so that the strap will be sheared with either direction of rotation of the tool. The slot 15b may have a transverse dimension substantially greater than the thickness of the strap so that the same tool may be used with straps of difierent gauges but this dimension should not ordinarily be more than two or three times the thickness of the strap so that the shearing of the strap will start after a comparatively limited rotation of the tool.

Although one form of the invention and a modification thereof have been shown and described by way of illustration, it will be understood that the invention may be constructed in various other forms which come within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A strap cutter comprising a rotatable member having a tapered extremity provided with a longitudinal strap receiving slot and having cutting edges converging longitudinally of the cutter at the margins of the slot.

2. A strap cutter consisting of a one-piece rotatable member having a tapered extremity provided with a longitudinal strap receiving slot, said member having a cutting edge extending along the margin of said slot and inclined to the longitudinal axis of said member.

3. A strap cutter comprising a rotatable member having a tapered extremity provided with a longitudinal strap receiving slot, the margins of said slot "forming cutting edges which are inclined to the longitudinal axis of the cutter, said slot having a length not greater than said tapered extremity.

4. A strap cutter comprising a rotatable member having a tapered extremity provided with a longitudinal strap receiving slot, said tapered extremity having two cutting edges along each marginal edge of the slot which are inclined to the longitudinal axis of the cutter.

Foote Dec. 12, 1905 Besner Jan. 2, 1951 

